Fawcett’s Elm Creek Ranch Annual Female Sale Ree Heights, SD

Husband and wife duo, Becky and Bob Harrell working cows. (continued from page 5) horse so we chose to breed our own and select accordingly.”

For approximately 20 years, Harrell cattle have been marketed through a branded beef program. Bob says that this has been an eye opener and a driving force in the breeding program.

“We participated in a branded program with Country Natural for 18 years,” he said. “We got all of our individual carcass data back, showing ribeye, marbling, backfat and yield. The cooperative included cattle of all breeds — Charolais, Tarentaise, Angus, even some Longhorns- — and the cattle went through different

Matriarch Edna Harrell likes to stay involved and know what’s going on at the ranch. development programs before they were slaughtered. At the end of each year, all the members were given everyone’s data, sorted for profitability and quality, so we were able to see the factors involved in what made certain cattle more profitable than others.

“Often purebred breeders focus on extremes: the most growth, the lowest birthweight, the most ribeye, the best marbling. What we learned through all of this data was that the most profitable people did more of these things better than average. We started developing breeding philosophies based on what we learned. I’m a firm believer in ‘conception to consumption;’ following our cattle all the way through. We are very EPD focused and we also focus on carcass merit. We live in a quality driven world; cattle have to grade choice. The bottom line for us is that our customers have to make money for us to stay in this business.”

Bob Harrell and Wannie Mackenzie are currently embarking into a new partnership with Agri Beef, along with 20-25 other entities, building a new packing house locally for which the members will supply finished cattle throughout the year. Bob sees this as yet another opportunity for some of his customers to retain ownership of their calves through slaughter. If that’s not their preference, he is offering to buy back calves sired by Harrell bulls to feed out for Agri Beef, so that his customers can get their carcass data back and use that information to make their own breeding decisions.

“Seeing numbers helps take the guesswork out of decisions,” Bob said. “We’ve learned over the years that when calves are sold in the fall, roughly 75% of profitability is determined by the cow and the other 25% on performance and carcass merit. However, when retaining ownership that changes to pretty close to 50/50. You can’t sacrifice anything along the way, though. Ranchers can’t sacrifice maternal traits to get carcass traits or vise versa; we need both. It’s been a slow process for us. I try to avoid the ‘two steps forward, one step back’ mentality. I like to think of it as two slow steps forward: always focusing on fertility, quality, pre-

“The consumer wants to be able to trust where their steak came from,” Bob said. “We haven’t always done the best job telling our story. We are the greatest conservationists. Ranchers want good grass and clean water, and we preserve open spaces and provide sanctuary for wildlife.”

Spring, fall and every day in between, Bob enjoys his work and loves his cattle. Seeing the new calf crop every spring, riding and bringing in hot cows daily for AI’ing, pairing out cows, getting the herd out to grass are all highlights of the year, but seeing how the calves have matured every fall is his favorite.

“I love the cow business,” Bob said. “I love being horseback, just riding through the cows. We just keep on fine tuning and

Bob Harrell and the Harrell family is proud of the Hereford breed. They enjoy being out in the cows on horseback in the beautiful mountain pastures of eastern Oregon. All the cattle work is done on horseback.

dictability and consistency: making small changes in the direction I want to go rather than looking at extremes.”

Whether making breeding decisions, replacing old fence, practicing regenerative agriculture to improve grass and soil, or giving a young horse more experience tracking cows, Harrells view the rhythm of the changing seasons on the ranch as a building process. perfecting what we’re doing. I’m proud of the Hereford breed. In these days of high input costs, Hereford influence triggers efficiency. It’s a fun and challenging business. It’s not without its hardships but it is very rewarding and a great way to raise a family. I feel very blessed to have been given this opportunity by my parents.”

(continued from page 1)

Soon after arriving, he purchased an additional 320 acres at $10 per acre. At the time, this took 17 years to pay for. During his 62 years on the ranch, Elmer and his family accumulated many more acres which supported growth in the cow herd. He had 12 children, one being Harry Foss. Harry and his brother Kenneth took on the cow herd after Elmer’s passing. Harry went on to create Foss Ranch, Inc. with his wife, Helen Miller Foss, and their four daughters: Kathy, Cyndy, Judy and Mary Jo.

In the early ’80s, one of the daughters, Judy, moved back to live on the ranch with her husband Neil Turnbull. At the time, Neil was working for Continental Grain in Culbertson, MT and continued this while managing Foss Ranch with Harry, Judy & Mary Jo. During this time, Neil and Judy were fortunate enough to purchase additional acreages to get their start. Neil originally grew up in Cambridge, ID where his family focused on hay production and cattle, along with having some farmland as well. “Growing up, I learned a lot from my parents, and later from Harry. What Harry really taught me was the power and importance of genetics. He knew Herefords inside and out.” Neil said. Also coming from a Hereford background, Neil’s family raised Hereford cattle and his brother followed through with the breed to this day, operating a Hereford ranch in ID.

Neil, Judy and Mary Jo worked on Foss Ranch with Harry until 2007, when the Foss Ranch was dissolved. The main cow herd was then split between the two families. After the split, Neil and Judy formed A7 Ranch and continue to expand the commercial Hereford cow herd. They also grow forage crops for feed and various cash crops. Along with feeding their own cattle, they do custom feeding for other producers, buy steers to feed, and background heifers. The Harvestore system that was put in during the 1960s is still the same one used to feed the steers today.

“Each year in the fall we’re given the opportunity to buy Rocking R Corporation’s calves, owned by Judy’s sister Mary Jo and her husband Doug. These exceptional calves are the sister herd of the A7 Ranch. They provide added value as we can offer loads of “like” cattle,” said Neil. Rocking R’s heifers are also backgrounded at A7 Ranch before returning to Bainville, MT.

In the past when it came time to sell the steers, they would either be sold directly from the sale barn or through order buyers. Now, in addition to those markets, A7 Ranch has sold and shipped backgrounded steers directly to the feeders. “We’ve been fortunate enough to make some contacts with people in the Certified Hereford Program who’ve helped us find these feeders. It’s worked out very well for us,” said Neil. Over the

LINE 1 HEREFORD CATTLE For Sale Private Treaty

Bulls, Registered and Commercial Hereford Heifers/F1s

We focus on high maternal traits and carcass numbers. Fescue raised and can be sent anywhere in the U.S. to be productive.

We can deliver and guarantee our bulls throughout the first breeding season.

Current Sires in Use:

HH Advance 6163D • HH Advance 3297 ET HH Advance 7139 ET • CL 1 Domino 6187D CL 1 Domino 883F 1ET • CL 1 386A CL 1 Domino 744E • XP L1 Domino 14040

Matthew and Casey Ivy • 20652 Oakwood Dr., Blackwater, MO 65322 1-660-888-0176 • Moyield@gmail.com • www.ivyfarmsllc.com We are conveniently located off I-70, 30 minutes west of Columbia, MO.